Zydeco in Southwest Louisiana

Happy Monday ! 

Today let’s talk about what going on around home. We are in the middle of festival season and this week locally we are  celebrating :

36th Annual Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Festival  : in Opealousas,La.

Zydeco grew up around my rural  area it a  music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native people of Louisiana.

 

History of Zydeco : 

Early zydeco was a blend of Louisiana French accordion music and Afro-Caribbean beats. It sat at the crossroads of Creole, Cajun, gospel and the blues, yet has since evolved to include influences from several other genres. Instrumentation almost always includes an accordion and a frottoir, a washboard. Guitar and drums typically add even more rhythm and syncopation to create a highly danceable mix. The word Zydeco gets its name from a colloquial Creole French expression “Les haricots ne sont pas salés”  meaning “the snap beans aren’t salty” or idiomatically for “the times are hard.” Like the blues, early zydeco offered a way for the rural poor both to express and to escape the hardships of life through music and dance. More info Louisiana Folk Life

If you are coming for the Zydeco Breakfast don’t miss this item: 

Sweet  Potato   Muffin

• 2 C flour
• 1  C  mashed  Sweet  Potatoe
•  2   beaten  Eggs
• 1/2 C   Milk
• 1/4 C molasses
• 3/4 C Brown Sugar
• 1/3 C soft margarine
• 1/3 C Raisins
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t  salt
• 1/2 t  ginger
• 1/2 t  nutmeg
• 1/8 t ground cloves

Heat oven to 350 -grease large Muffin tins. 

Mix together dry ingredients.  Cream sugar,butter and molasses. Add other ingredients and Mix with dry mixture.Pour into muffin tins and bake for 16-18 minutes or until done.